DTLA

Bookstore Flirtations / August 24, 2018 by Mike Daclan

This was definitely one of the funner shoots I did. It started with the thought of a stolen glance in a book store. The idea was that she spotted someone she had eyes for and wanted to entice him into following her. Once he realized her plan it would’ve been too late as her trap was set and he was hers.

She immediately took to this idea and ran with it all the way. I love how concepts and ideas turn into looks and feels evoked in the photos. By putting her in the subject of power she was able to put forth some great looks and poses. In the end I think it came off a little more natural and slightly voyeuristic which adds a better element to the shots.

There are a lot more concepts and ideas that I want to shoot so reag our and let’s create something fun together!

Ami & The Disney Concert Hall / July 6, 2018 by Mike Daclan

Super excited to be shooting with Ami again this weekend so I wanted to throw back to our first shoot together at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

She has a great energy about her which is super infectious! I’ll definitely be needing it as we have a super early shoot time tomorrow to try and avoid the triple digit weather.

Hope you have a great weekend!

/ September 5, 2015 by Mike Daclan

The other weekend I had the opportunity to shoot with my friends daughter for a senior portrait. This was my first time shooting a senior portrait so I did come in to the shoot a bit nervous. Luckily Taylor was easy to talk to and after some basic chit chat she really began to open up and take confidence in her poses and general attitude. I think it really shows in how the first few pictures came out versus the ones at the end.

As a dancer, she wanted to incorporate some of her moves into the shots and after throwing out a few ideas (and a little encouragement from her Mom & Friends!), we started getting really creative with the poses. Again, with the confidence in place you can see how much she began to enjoy herself. We moved to a few different locations using a few different outfits. We really had a lot of fun knocking out some of these poses and despite the hot ground, she held it all in place like a champ while I snapped away.

Finally, Taylors little sister and best friend wanted to get involved in the shoot. With some helpful guidance from her Mother (and my dear friend) Ryan, we were able to get in a few more fun looks. My favorite from this set is a totally relaxed shot when she's leaning against a sign pole. It was a totally candid moment but came out so well. At the very end when we were getting ready to go I had her do a few more solo aerials for some nice action poses to round out the day.

The day turned out to be a very great experience for everyone involved. Taylor and her Mom were super excited about the photos and loved them all. I do have a few more ideas that I want to incorporate with her and her friend involving some long exposures around downtown Los Angeles and light painting. Those will make for some great photos!

Cheers!

Warm LA Nights / March 25, 2015 by Mike Daclan

Earlier this year I had the pleasure to work with a great up and coming model. Since we last shot, she's gotten to shoot with other photographers and build up quite an impressive portfolio. As you can tell from these early photos, she had a lot of confidence and knew how to pose.

The backdrop of Little Tokyo suited the shoot very well. In total we captured three great looks and here was the first of the sets. You can check out her MM profile here and make sure to follow her on Instagram!

Metro Night Ride / December 10, 2014 by Mike Daclan

So my buddy Q asked me if I was interested in joining him, his girlfriend, his daughter and his cousin on a journey on the metro. His girlfriend needed to figure out which route to take to get to her evening college classes. It was just a simple evening ride but looking back on these photos there were so many that I love from this set.

Over the course of the evening we met a woman proud of her beautiful earrings despite having matter hair from her hair net after a long day of work, a fight breaking out in which one man swung a metal sign at the other, and solitude at many stops. People riding together but being alone.

The metro was and I suppose always will be an interesting cross section of the local population. The sights (and smells) tend to linger in your mind for a good period of time even after you reach your destination.

The Ghosts of LA / December 2, 2014 by Mike Daclan

I've tried starting this blog entry several times but no matter how I try to phrase it something about it seems off. Maybe I'm reaching too far for what I want to express. I wanted to reference the past and how ghosts are all around us if we can keep our eyes open.

The collection of photos I have here represent what I feel to be the everyday ghosts that haunt LA. Spectral trails of light that pass through the night while we sleep and mainly go unnoticed. I had a great time capturing these and I really can't wait to get back out there to catch a few more ghosts.

Consistency / November 27, 2014 by Mike Daclan

So much for that huh?

There's been a lot going on and many changes have taken place since my last update. I'm happy to say that they have been for the better. The most significant change was moving from a job that caused me heartache, stress and pain to one of positivity and HAPPINESS. I think that this change will also help fuel my drive to be more active here as I feel the fire begin to burn and inspire.

Despite my lack of updates here, I actually have been somewhat active shooting. Over the course of the next few weeks I will be adding in photos from recent street sessions, model sessions and random day/night documents.

For this first update, I'm moving through some street photography I shot back in August. It was a nice cool day with a little bit of cloud cover. It made for a nice cool day of walking around and I tried to match the tone with the feel of the day. Overall I think it came out well and I'm very happy with the results.

I started off the day at a nice little scenic park which overlooks downtown. I've seen it in a few other photos and wanted to explore it myself. Unfortunately it was a bit too crowded when I got there so I didn't spend much time. I will definitely be heading back and would love to schedule some shoots there. Afterwards I decided to head to Santee Alley. It was a crowded day there but unlike the park, this was exactly what I was looking for. I needed to get back into walking through a vibrant crowd and feel the energy of the crowd as it moved from shop to shop. Despite having done this many times before, I still felt a bit timid as I began to weave through the crowd but as time passed, all the familiar instincts kicked in once more.

The photography day wound down as a light sprinkle began to move into the area. With the crowd dispersing I headed back to my car and went home to edit (but not upload!) the photos. Flash forward three months and here you go!

New Year New Post New Photos / January 19, 2014 by Mike Daclan

My last post was back in October of 2013. This is completely unacceptable. Updates need to happen more frequently and with some consistency. I've always wanted a place to share my photos so why not use this resource that's been available the whole time?

Although I have been taking a lot of pictures since my last update, they often wind up on my Flickr page with little to no fanfare to those I really want to see the images. It becomes an archive in a gallery way off the main street that not a lot of people actually see. Only those that are down that alley for a purpose end up seeing these photos.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be catching up on my backlog of photos and posting and sharing here along with some stories about particular photos. I've made it a resolution that over the new year I'm going to be more active in my photography. Both in taking pictures and making sure that this blog/site gets updated with more images.

These latest images are from early October when my friend Cliff came into town. He's a great photographer and was here in Los Angeles for a few jobs. While in town we spent a morning/afternoon walking through downtown Los Angeles and Old Town Pasadena. Going out for a photo walk by yourself is always a great experience but going out with a friend, and one who hasn't gone street shooting in your city is an even greater experience. You get a different perspective with fresh eyes looking at the city and you can both approach the same shot in different ways. If you ever get a chance to meet up with someone from out of town for a photo walk I highly recommend it!

Hope everyone has a great 2014 and cheers to a photo filled year!